StarHub is the first local telco to launch two-way SMS between Web Browser and Mobile Phone
Singapore, 22 September 2003 - Starting today, StarHub Mobile customers will be more accessible than ever with WebSMS!
WebSMS will enable friends and contacts of all StarHub Mobile customers to engage in instant two-way SMS communication between the web and their handsets at the same time. This will be the first time a local telco offers such a service, which is purely accessed from its own website.
Presently, when an Internet user sends a free SMS from a mobile operator's website, the SMS recipient will not be able to reply instantly, as he may not know the identity of the sender and there is no reply mechanism to the web directly. He has to first know the identity of the sender, and then manually search for the sender's mobile phone number in order to reply to the message.
The recipient will receive the message, with the name of the sender included, and be prompted to reply directly to that SMS. The received SMS, together with the sent SMS, will appear in a pop-up chat box on the initiator's computer screen so that he can continue to maintain the two-way communication with the mobile phone user. Each user can communicate free-of-charge with one friend through WebSMS at any one time.
"StarHub recognises the convenience and popularity of SMS amongst the mobile users. WebSMS will enable everyone and anyone to stay in constant touch with StarHub mobile customers - home and abroad. That's why StarHub came up with this simple and innovative service, so that two-way SMS communication is not limited to just between mobiles," said Mr Chan Kin Hung, Senior Vice President, StarHub Mobile.
"WebSMS is easy and hassle-free to use. There is no complicated set-up to follow. Just go onto the StarHub website, home and abroad, and send for free. They simply send the SMS messages directly from our website to launch a two-way SMS communication with StarHub mobile customers."
WebSMS enables web users to engage in an SMS session with StarHub customers easily and conveniently, instead of having to break away from the computer to send or reply to an SMS. The recipient is also spared the inconvenience of guessing the identity of the SMS sender, and searching for the sender's mobile number. With StarHub's WebSMS, mobile users will immediately know the identity of the sender and can reply to these SMS messages sent from StarHub's website by simply pressing the reply button on their handsets - the same procedure as when they reply to SMS messages sent from mobile phones.
Through the Wireless Broadband Alliance, StarHub WiFi customers can also take advantage of our extensive WiFi coverage and use WebSMS anytime, anywhere at hotspots around the Asia-Pacific region, and in the future, globally. StarHub's WebSMS service is available to all Internet users free-of-charge - home and abroad. The usual SMS charges will apply to StarHub Mobile customers who reply from their mobile phones.
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